Should Artists Create Alt Text?
Hello Muddies, I’ve come off an exciting month, launching We Are The Scrappy Ones. In other great...
Read MorePosted by Kirbi Fagan | Tuesday, May 20th, 2025
Hello Muddies, I’ve come off an exciting month, launching We Are The Scrappy Ones. In other great...
Read MorePosted by Kirbi Fagan | Tuesday, March 25th, 2025
I’m excited to present a project of mine coming next week, April 1st, “We Are The Scrappy Ones.” We Are the Scrappy Ones was written by groundbreaking educator-memoir writing-creative,-activist, Rebekah Tuassig. We are the scrappy ones. / We live, we adapt, we defy. / Made of stardust and grit, we are spectacular. Children with disabilities experience the world in all kinds of ways. Yet one thing they share is navigating a world that doesn’t…
Read MorePosted by Kirbi Fagan | Tuesday, January 28th, 2025
Traditional and Digital tools together are being used in collaboration in illustration today more than ever. I’m bringing Muddy Colors an artist and gifted teacher who rides the waves of technology alongside traditional art making. Matthew Schenk is an artist and illustrator who has illustrated various projects from coloring books to medical illustrations. He spent ten years in Los Angeles, California working on productions for Sony Pictures/ Columbia Tristar Children’s Entertainment including the animated version…
Read MorePosted by Kirbi Fagan | Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024
I first heard the term “Tra-digital” about a decade ago, most artists know it means when an artist combines traditional materials like paint and pencils along with digital tools like a Wacom tablet, iPad or Cintiq. I’ve been developing my approach using both traditional and digital tools since I graduated from art school. I’ve avoided sharing my process online because my process is not pretty and not always linear. This process continues to develop for…
Read MorePosted by Kirbi Fagan | Tuesday, October 8th, 2024
I connected online with Kelley, admiring her career in book cover art. Her work was everywhere I...
Read MorePosted by Kirbi Fagan | Tuesday, August 13th, 2024
My favorite work I have done, and hope to continue to do, is working on middle grade books. From fantasy, to historial fiction it’s been a rewarding area of my career and one I had my heart set on doing since my college years. What is Middle Grade? Some people debate where exactly the rails are for the “middle grade” genre but most agree middle grade readers are 8-12 years old. The worldview in the…
Read MorePosted by Kirbi Fagan | Tuesday, June 18th, 2024
I’m writing with another conversation on a topic that includes traditional skills, design, and the...
Read MorePosted by Kirbi Fagan | Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024
One of the projects on my desk is a book with scenes featuring a lot of…. green. In gardening, textiles, and decorating, green hues flow for me. I incorporate them generously so much so that I think of green as a neutral color – a backdrop of life on Earth. But this romantic thought comes to a screaming halt when I’m planning a composition with a lot of green. When I’m stuck with a problem…
Read MorePosted by Kirbi Fagan | Tuesday, February 27th, 2024
Hi All, In my last article, I interviewed Alyssa Menold, about critique partnerships and how to...
Read MorePosted by Kirbi Fagan | Tuesday, January 2nd, 2024
Have you ever had a time when work is pouring out of you? You finish project after project,...
Read MorePosted by Kirbi Fagan | Tuesday, November 7th, 2023
Critique from the wrong person at the wrong time can send an artist off their trail and put cracks in their confidence. I’m fortunate to have a few artists in my life who push my work with experience, expertise, and friendship. Finding and building these relationships is a journey on its own. To talk to you today about critique partnership and how to get more value from crits, I’d like to introduce to you my…
Read MorePosted by Kirbi Fagan | Tuesday, September 12th, 2023
Last week I received the news that the novel I recently illustrated, A Horse Named Sky is #4 on the New York Best Seller list! A Horse Named Sky includes over 100 illustrations drawn traditionally (a big first for me!) I feel especially excited to share this on Muddy Colors because this extended community has been a big part of the foundation of all I’m creating today. If you have been illustrating for a while…
Read MorePosted by Kirbi Fagan | Tuesday, July 18th, 2023
It’s about a month now before A Horse Named Sky hits bookstores. This book has my inner tween-ager feeling completely giddy. When I approached illustrating this nearly 300-page book, it was not lost on me the challenge of drawing horses (a topic many artists grumble about.) I’m writing today to share with you some of the takeaways from my deep dive into drawing these incredible animals. Highlights Many great horse paintings or illustrations showcase specular…
Read MorePosted by Kirbi Fagan | Tuesday, May 23rd, 2023
If you’ve been practicing drawing for years, a newbie or a seasoned pro you know that age-old advice, “draw from life.” It seems to be the answer for all sorts of art questions, like, how can I get better? How can I draw faster? How do I find my style? First, what is drawing from life? Drawing from life, or sometimes called, “drawing from observation’ is a practice where the artist draws what they see…
Read MorePosted by Kirbi Fagan | Tuesday, March 28th, 2023
At your local hardware store, you will see paint colors with all sorts of names. Kettle black,...
Read More
Recent Comments